Seated next to her fiancé, police captain Daniel Sullivan, in a Bowery theater in 1903 Manhattan, lady private eye Molly Murphy is eagerly awaiting the performance of escape artist Harry Houdini, in this sparkling ninth entry in Rhys Bowen's Agatha Award–winning series. Then something goes horribly wrong—another illusionist, the Great Scarpelli, actually saws into his lovely assistant—and the show is halted. Scarpelli insists his equipment was tampered with, among a spate of such incidents, and Houdini's gentle wife Bess hires Molly to protect her husband against such sabotage.

"Molly Murphy ... finds herself pulled into the dangerous and mysterious world of illusionists in early 20th-century New York City. Hired by Bess Houdini, Molly is tasked with preventing Houdini from being killed on stage, something that Bess desperately fears after a string of accidents at the theater. But the illusionists are a tight-lipped group who refuse to share their secrets. Fortunately, Molly has some inside help in the form of her fiancé, Daniel, a police captain. His help comes with strings, however, as Daniel disapproves of Molly working such a dangerous case, especially as he really wishes she was planning their wedding.... With plot elements including a counterfeiting scheme and German spies (in addition to Houdini), this historical mystery delivers a top-notch, detail-rich story full of intriguing characters. Fans of the 1920s private detective Maisie Dobbs should give this series a try."—Booklist